A move that has annoyed Russia but not threatened its security, Poland, after a heated controversy, has unveiled the first of a host of U. S. Patriot missiles to be stationed in the country.

Attended by U. S. officials also, the ceremonious deployment marked the first stage of the stationing of a Patriot battery in the town of Morag, just 40 miles from the border with Russia, Poland's communist-era master.

It has been reported that the move comes after a decision by U. S. President Barack Obama last September to scrap a plan by the Bush administration aiming to create a defense shield in Europe with interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar base in the Czech Republic by 2013.

Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich said, "We regard the deployment of the Patriot system in Poland as an important step increasing our national security and in developing strategic cooperation with the United States. This is not just about the equipment because this one battery is not the be-all and end-all. This is about people, that American soldiers who will service the battery are standing on Polish soil."

A contingent of 150 U. S troops due to operate the surface-to-air missile system has also been deployed.

Russia initially slammed the plan as a serious security threat to its national security, although intended to fend off potential threats from rogue states such as Iran.

Moscow insisted that all its ex-satellite states remained the zone of Russia's special interests, a leading Russian military politics expert, Pavel Felgengauer told Xinhua news agency.

He said, "Russians do not like it that the American military infrastructure has been unfolding in the countries of the former Soviet zone of influence. Moscow wants to have a right of veto there and Moscow wants the West to recognize this right, formally or not." (With Inputs from Agencies)